Cup Previews; Trophy Previews

Kularoos Plymouth Raiders vs. Poujoulat Heat Guildford

w/e 23-Sept

The two sides who have collected nine of the last ten pieces of BBL silverware clash at the MetroRadio Arena on Friday evening when Newcastle Eagles host Poujoulat Heat Guildford.

The Heat succeeded Eagles as league champions and BBL Cup winners last season and have already added the inaugural BBL Cup Winners’ Cup, but Newcastle held on to their play-off crown, and both sides are expected to be among the front-runners for the league title this season.

Eagles’ coach Fabulous Flournoy is looking forward to his side’s first competitive game of the season, and expects a difficult test against the Heat: “All their new players are extremely decent, and as we found after winning all the trophies in 2005/6, everyone will be gunning for them” he said.

“Paul James has done an extremely good job adding new players to the team, and building on what they achieved last year. They will be big and tough, they deserved the success they had last season, and they are taking great strides forward by going into Europe.

 “They have talented players on their side, and it’s the same with us. The teams are relatively evenly matched, and it should be a good basketball game.”

Heat coach Paul James is expecting a difficult start to his side’s defence of the BBL League title: “They’ve brought back a few players, and added some real quality in Richard Midgley and Lynard Stewart. They are going to be the same as previous years, they are a smart bunch of players and they’ll play some tough defence. They have the scoring threat of Jeremy Hyatt, and Fab gives them some real energy.

“It’s the third time in four years that I’ve started up there, and as it’s the only time we’re playing in Newcastle this season we’ll be pleased to get it over with. We play them twice at home in April, and they could be massive games. I’m expecting a really good game on Friday, they will move the ball well and play with an intensity we need to match.”

The two sides split the four BBL Championship meetings last season, each winning a game on their opponent’s court and one on their own.

Kularoos Plymouth Raiders vs. BiG Storage Cheshire Jets

Friday 21st September, 2007. Plymouth Pavilions. 7.30pm

Kularoos Plymouth Raiders open their BBL Championship campaign on Friday evening when they host BiG Storage Cheshire Jets at the Pavilions.

It’s been all-change for the north west club this season, with Jets adopting a new name and fielding a significantly different team under new player-coach TJ Walker.

Plymouth coach Gary Stronach admits that his side are facing something of an unknown quantity when Walker and his team visit on Friday evening: “It’s going to be different with TJ in charge, and I don’t know what to expect. We’ll be going in pretty blind, so we need to concentrate on our game, and see what materialises.

“We know all about TJ and James Hamilton, but we don’t know much about the rest. The players he’s added are a bit of mystery.”

Stronach believes that his opposing number will adapt well to the dual role he has taken on after leaving Newcastle Eagles: “He knows the BBL inside-out, and I’m sure he’ll be a success. I’ve been in that position with Raiders when we were in the EBL, and I’ve got no doubt that he’ll adapt. As point guard, he’ll have the ball in his hands, and that always helps.”

Raiders had a mixed weekend, hammering touring side Team USA Select by 22 points on Friday night before losing a thrilling BBL Cup Winners Cup game against Guildford Heat 93-91 the following evening. Stronach was a happy man despite that loss: “We had a chance to win the Guildford game, and I couldn’t ask for anything more. It was a definite improvement on last week, the new players are fitting in well, and we’ll improve as the season progresses. I was able to use 11 players on Friday night, and there was a good crowd, so that was positive.”

Raiders are still without point guard Gavin Love, and Stronach admits that he does not know when the Englishman will return to action: “It’s uncertain when Gavin will be back, but we’re not going to rush him back before he’s ready.”

Even without the injured Love, Stronach was able to give significant minutes to eight players in the loss against Heat on Saturday, and is still hopeful of adding a further player to his squad.

In contrast to his opposite number, Jets’ new player-coach Walker knows what to expect when his side start their season: “They were the last team I played against before breaking my hand in the Trophy final last season.

“We need to control Andrew Lasker. He can score in many different ways, and he’s a high-octane player. I haven’t seen them with Terrance Durham in the side yet, but DeAntoine Beasley is always tough to play against. However, one player we really need to look out for is Gaylon Moore. He’s one of those players who slips under the radar. He always plays hard and does the intangibles. Players like him are always dangerous to face as you never know what they are going to do against you.”

Sheffield Sharks vs. SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks

Friday 21st September, 2007. E.I.S. Sheffield. 7.30pm

Two of last season’s top four sides meet at the EIS in Sheffield on Friday as the BBL Championship gets under way with Sheffield Sharks hosting the SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks.

Even though it is their first game of the new campaign, Sharks coach Pete Scantlebury knows that Friday’s clash is a key one for his new-look team: “Looking at Rocks’ roster, they are more or less the same as last season, and while I’m not sure if they’ve added anyone they will be tough as they have continuity. They are one of the sides we play twice away from home, so winning at the EIS on Friday is really important. Trying to win twice at Braehead to clinch the series would be a big ask.”

With Sterling Davis stepping up to become Rocks’ player-coach this season, Scantlebury admits to not knowing how he will cope with the dual role: “It may bring more pressure on Sterling’s shoulders, but it could also make him play better.

“Sterling’s still got Rob Yanders, and he really makes things tick, while Maurice Hampton got better as last season progressed and will step up. They’ve also got Julius Joseph who can hit you from the outside. We’ll have to upset their rhythm if we’re going to win the game.”

New Rocks coach Davis admits to knowing little about the Sharks’ roster, but is hoping that his club’s continuity will help them gain an opening day victory: “I haven’t see them play, I know they’ve signed a lot of new players and I’m not sure if they have a full roster yet. We have to focus on what we’ll do, and if we can do that we’ll be ok.”

Having taken over from Thorsten Leibenath in the summer, Davis has kept the same group of players together and is looking to build on last season when they finished runners-up in both the BBL Cup and Play-offs as well as finishing fourth in the league: “We wanted to keep the same group of guys together, and we’ve managed to do that. That’s taken some of the pressure off and things have gone okay so far. The guys have been really supportive and worked hard. That’s all I can ask for, they’re starting to get into shape and we’re looking forward to Friday.”

If Friday’s game is as exciting as the majority of last season’s meetings between the two sides, the supporters are in for a treat. Two of the games went down to the final play as Sheffield won the first three encounters, but the fourth encounter saw Rocks end Sharks’ hopes of a series sweep and also seriously damaged their title hopes as a late 11-0 run helped them to an 80-71 victory.

Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders vs. Team Birmingham Panthers

Saturday 22nd September, 2007. 7.30pm

The season couldn’t start with a bigger game for these clubs as the East vs. West Midlands derby pits the BBL’s oldest club, the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders, against one of its youngest in the Team Birmingham Panthers.

The Panthers are preparing for their inaugural season in Britain’s top flight and Head Coach Nigel Lloyd has admitted that it’s been a tough Summer,

“I’ve been really busy trying to sort things out,” said Lloyd. “Not all the players are here yet, everything’s agreed, but the paperwork takes time, and it’s just one of those things. There’s nothing we can do about it, every team had these problems, but because we are starting from scratch it makes it harder.

“I’m excited to be back, and I hope to teach the young guys how to be a good professional. People did that for me, and I wish to pass that on to our players. Birmingham’s a really nice town, and I’ve had some good times here. It’s the kind of place where the fans appreciated hard work, and we’ll be putting a hard working team on the floor who will be committed.”

Lloyd has only limited knowledge of the Riders’ line-up, but there’s a familiar face for him on Leicester bench: “I’ve known Martin Ford for a long time, he was my assistant at Milton Keynes for a while, and is a really good coach and a great teacher. I know he was looking for the chance to get back into the BBL, and he deserves the chance to coach again.

“Chad McKnight is a very good player, he’s always been on a winning team with Guildford, and he’ll bring that winning attitude. Rod Wellington is one of the most underrated players in the league, he’s extremely versatile, and he will be a big part of the programme. They’ve also signed Joel Burns, he’s a veteran player and he’ll bring some leadership to them. He’s in good shape, and he’ll be a big plus for Martin.”

Having taken on the job a couple over the Summer, Riders’ coach Martin Ford is also looking forward to getting back to calling the plays in the BBL: “There’s no pressure on us to win trophies. We’ve had a tiny amount of time to be ready, and we’re hoping that our Americans will fly into the country either late on Wednesday or early Thursday morning. We’ll train on Thursday and then go into the game on Saturday.

“It will be tough, but we went to Chester for a friendly on Sunday and we were a point up with 15 seconds remaining; a shot blocked by James Hamilton in the final second cost us the win. It was only the third time we had met as a group, and we had no plays or structures worked out. But the commitment they gave to each other was tremendous. Hopefully we can maintain that level.”

In common with his Birmingham counterpart, Ford is going into the game with no real idea how the opposition will play: “There will be a couple of guys on their bench who talked to us over the summer. Rob Paternostro will be instrumental for them in the early weeks, and they have a lot of experience on the bench in Nigel Lloyd, Clive Allen and Paul Douglas. We’re in a similar situation to Birmingham in that we’re starting from scratch. It should certainly be interesting.”

PAWs London Capital vs. Marshall MK Lions

Saturday 22nd September, 2007.   Capital City Academy.   7.30pm

It’s a battle of the new versus the old at Capital City Academy on Saturday when PAWS London Capital host Marshall MK Lions for the first game in the BBL.

The London side have stepped up from the EBL Division One – where they finished fifth last season and reached the semi-finals of all three knockout competitions – and will face one of the BBL’s longest serving clubs who have played in 19 of the competition’s 20 seasons.

As well as being Capital’s first game in the competition, it will be a coaching debut for former LA Laker, and England legend, Steve Bucknall

While Bucknall’s side will have an air of mystery about it, the new Capital coach knows plenty about the Lions team they will face: “I know a lot about Milton Keynes. They have players who have played in the BBL for a long time, and they have masses of experience. I know what to expect, and they are no mugs. People say they are too old, but last year they started with six straight wins. They’ve added Yorick [Williams] as a bit of a spark, when you throw him into the mix you never know what to expect. We played together last year at Leicester, and also for England.”

Despite his respect for the Lions’ veterans, Bucknall singles out Milton Keynes’ point guard Terrell Brown as the key player for Vince Macaulay’s team: “He’s usually the smallest player on the floor, but he’s very quick and that will always cause problems. We need to make him run into corner and stop his effectiveness.”

While it will be a coaching debut for Bucknall, Lions will have an old hand back in the hot-seat as Vince Macaulay takes charge of the side. While Lions met Capital twice last year in pre-season games, this year’s side is likely to bear little resemblance to that team, and Macauley admits to having little knowledge of the new-look London side:

“I don’t know much about them, but I do know Buck, and I’m sure he’ll have done a good job getting them fit and ready to go. They have a good point guard in Wes Miller from North Carolina, and big-man Ibrahim Gariba is well equipped for this level of basketball. They’ll have lots of young, hungry players from the London area – and I’m sure they’ll provide a tough challenge”

 
BiG Storage Cheshire Jets vs. Sheffield Sharks

Sunday 23rd September, 2007 5.30pm

With a new name, a new coach and a new team, BiG Storage Cheshire Jets host Sheffield Sharks in their opening home game of the season on Sunday.

New Jets player-coach TJ Walker will be making his home debut in Sunday’s game, and the summer signing is enjoying the step up to running a team both on and off the floor: “We have some hard work ahead of us, most of the players came in over last weekend, and Chris Brown should join up with us on Wednesday. We’re working hard and it will take some time to gel, if we can steal a couple of wins it will be good for our confidence.”

Sharks coach Pete Scantlebury admits that it’s a step into the unknown as his side visit Northgate Arena on Sunday: “I really don’t know very much about them. Obviously they’ve added TJ Walker as player-coach and brought back James Hamilton, but other than Marc Pratt, the rest of their side is new to me.

“It will be one of those games where neither side knows how the match-ups are going to work. We need to do our stuff to stop them, and try to score at the other end.”

The game will see the return to Northgate Arena of British guard Alto Virgil who left Jets to link up with the Sharks in the summer. Having played in all 36 league games for the Jets last season, Virgil averaged an impressive 18.4 points per game in his debut BBL campaign, and Scantlebury is pleased to have added the 25-year-old:

“Alto was a player that impressed me greatly last season. He hurt us on a number of occasions when we played against the Jets even though they were struggling. He was one of the better guards in the league at a team that finished out of the play-offs. Hopefully, now he is surrounded by better players they will make him even better, which would be great news for us.”

In common with Jets, the Sharks have a new-look roster this season, and Walker is looking forward to facing Virgil and the Sharks on Sunday: “We’re back home, and we’ll be looking for a win. Sheffield have always been one of Cheshire’s main rivals. The main thing is not to worry about them, and that we put on a good show and give the fans a treat. Virgil will want to play well against his former club, and we will have to play aggressively against him.”